The first weekend will focus on young writers and readers, including sessions on cartooning and the rise of the graphic novel. The 23 sessions will be wide-ranging but will connect to the festival theme, The Shock of the Now.

The festival’s artistic director, Ms Chris Gallagher, said the aim of the festival was to celebrate great writing and to gain an insight into the people behind the words through panel discussions and debates.

“We want people to come along and listen to some great thinkers talking about the challenges and rewards of life in 2013. The program is a mix of panel discussions about modern values and ethics as well as tips about creating great stories and characters,” Ms Gallagher said.

“It’s a really diverse and exciting program. The panel discussions will vary from writers talking about their own inspiration and writing, to others talking about the issues that are reflected in their work. It’s an opportunity for audiences to join a conversation about the place of writers and books in the digital age.”

Highlights will include the keynote address on Friday March 22 by Australian-born Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne. Professor Singer, whose best-known books include Animal Liberation and Practical Ethics, is often cited as one of our most influential living philosophers.

Miles Franklin winner Frank Moorhouse (Dark Palace) will present The Martini Lecture on Saturday evening, March 23. Other panels will cover emerging Tasmanian writers, the future telling of Tasmanian history, in praise of idleness and writers and their gardens.

The festival will be held at the Hobart Town Hall and Salamanca Arts Centre on the weekends of March 16-17 and 22-24. For the full program see http://www.tasmanianwriters.org.